On July 19, 2024, with the participation of members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine Lyudmyla Volkova, Vitalii Gatseliuk, Volodymyr Luhanskyi and Roman Sabodash, the International Conference “Communication of the Judiciary: one voice as a tool for building trust” was held in Lviv.
The main goal of the event is to discuss internal communication issues and improve strategic communication of the judiciary.
The conference was organized by the High Council of Justice jointly with the “Good to know” Communication Agency, the EU Project “Pravo-Justice”, and the USAID “Justice for All” Program within the framework of the Project “Strengthening communication competences of the judicial system of Ukraine by developing an effective internal communication system and sustainable communication tools”.
The Ukrainian justice system faces many challenges, one of which is the low level of public trust. One of the key conditions for raising public awareness and trust in the judiciary is coordination of the judiciary and its effective communication with the media and the public.
Commission member Lyudmyla Volkova informed the participants of the event about the current state of the Commission’s communication environment and outlined the main problems that need to be solved.
Vitalii Gatseliuk highlighted the importance of internal communication in the judiciary.
Mr. Gatseliuk said: “This is a guarantee of its subjectivity and it is extremely important for the implementation of the constitutional principles of the separation of powers. Decentralization in the judiciary has a positive impact on the strength of external communications, but only if the entire judiciary speaks with one voice, communicating common values of the rule of law and human rights.”
Project Leader Reda Moliene reported on the results of the Project on communication development in the Ukrainian judiciary. Representatives of the Project “Pravo-Justice” and USAID “Justice for All” Program spoke about the developed initiatives and tools for communication in the judicial system of Ukraine.
Also at the event, the “Manual of the Judicial Communication” was presented, which will be useful to all bodies and officials working in the judicial system of Ukraine. It contains recommendations for effective internal cooperation and professional communication with the media and the public.
This conference is an important step in strengthening the communication competences of the Ukrainian judiciary. Interaction between the judiciary, the media and the public will contribute to a more effective establishment of the rule of law and independence of the judiciary in the country through mutual trust between the judiciary and society.
